Destiny: Guardian Rising
by Sinful Bias
Summary: Kuri is a newly awakened Titan, brought back from the dead by a Ghost of the Traveler, and drafted into the fight against the Darkness. Follow her as she comes to grips with awakening in a fallen echo of the world she once knew, and fights against the Darkness for the survival of the last City on Earth.


**I**

**Awakening**

'_Guardian..' _ A voice intruded upon her sleep, drawing her out of her deep slumber._.;Guardian?'_ the voice prompted again before Kuri opened her eyes and blinked, looking at the dirt that she had been resting on, _'Eyes up Guardian!'_ the voice nagged, and she looked up with the intent of clobbering who ever had woken her up, only to find a curious floating machine-thing in front of her. 'What the hell is this..' Kuri thought to herself before taking in the vista behind the Ghost, 'Oh gods, where am I?' she wondered, shock, and something else locking her voice in her throat before the thing spoke again: _'It worked, you're alive!'_ 'Well of course im alive, blathering fool!' she tried to retort, only to find her vocal cords paralyzed._ 'You don't know how long I've been looking for you. I'm a Ghost..Actually, I'm now your Ghost.'_ Kuri looked up as the Ghost droned on about itself, her mind struggling to come to grips with what she was seeing, and hearing_ 'You've been dead a long time, so you're going to see some things you're not going to understand'_ Wait...Dead..No, thats not right, she was just sleeping...Out here in a wasteland….Who the hell was she kidding.

'_This is Fallen territory, we aren't safe here.'_ the Ghost said as he..it, turned and looked off into the distance "To be honest, it doesn't look all that safe anyhow." Kuri finally replied before the Ghost turned back to her, _'We have to get you to the City.'_ he said before looking her over,_ 'Hold still.'_ She did as asked, and jumped when the Ghost vanished into her chest, "What the hell did you just do?!" she cried out before she heard the little voice in her head:_ 'Don't worry, I'm still here.'_ Right, the Ghost was in her head. Kuri trembled and collapsed into the dirt before screaming, venting all her terror before slumping against the ruined car next to her. She lay there panting and sobbing for a few minutes before her Ghost prompted her again: _'I didn't bring you back for you to die again, we have to move.'_ After that stark admission by her new companion, Kuri stood up and dusted her knees off, stuck with trusting her ersatz guide for the moment.

Kuri took only a moment to look her self over, clad in the armor that she had never seen before in her life before her eyes flicked up to look at her surroundings: Ash wastes, field of ruined cars, massive wall stretching on for miles, large objects in the distance. She also spotted a hole in the wall nearby, and picked out a path over the cars that she could traverse. "Welp, nothing for it.." she muttered before setting off for the wall. She paused by a ruined access door in the wall before looking back at the wastes. There was nothing out there for her but death it seemed, so she turned and stepped into the wall, making her way up a couple flights of stairs. _'I need to find you a weapon, before the Fallen find us.'_ her Ghost buzzed in her ear. She decided to ignore the Ghost for the moment until she came to a catwalk, that lead straight into a pitch black abyss. Kuri was about to comment on it when she heard something moving about above her somewhere, and her Ghost whispered: _'Quiet, they're right above us.'_ "No shit.." she whispered back before grinning, finding it odd that the voice in her head would whisper. She crouched and crept forward into the darkness, wishing she had a flashlight.

As if hearing her silent wish, her Ghost popped back up at her shoulder and light lanced out of its little eye, casting back the darkness. "Thanks." she murmured as she continued to creep forward, she did not want to be caught unarmed by whatever a Fallen was. Kuri was pleased to find that the light moved with her wherever she looked, and he stayed with her until she came to a platform, then he drifted off. She couldn't stop herself, she reached out and made a plaintive mewl as he drifted off, leaving her alone in the dark. _'Hang tight. Fallen thrive in the dark, we don't. We need more light.' _he said as he moved off into the darkness. She followed him with her eyes, watched as he disappeared into a wall before the lights snapped on to show a swarm of...Things. These things, she could only assume they were the Fallen that her Ghost spoke of, broke and ran as the lights came on. She watched them run in a mix of fascination and horror until her Ghost spoke: _'I found a rifle, over here.'_ Now that was news that got her attention, a weapon. Kuri turned toward the rising gate that her Ghost was floating by, "Awesome..Lets hope it still works." she said as she walked over toward the now open hall, her Ghost leading her to the old assault rifle before returning to her. _'I hope you know how to use that thing.' _he commented as she looked the firearm over. It was an Khvostov 7G-02, a frame based off the old American M-16. It was a sturdy rifle, and she was pleased to see it was still in good condition, and surprised to find it loaded with fresh ammo. She also noticed she had reserves, "Did you make this?" she asked as she popped off a couple rounds to get a feel for the recoil before emptying the magazine. 'Feels nice..' she thought to herself while her Ghost remained silent.

"Fine, be cryptic.." she muttered as she raised the Khvostov to her shoulder and set off down the halls. She rounded a corner and moved a few more meters before she saw a shadow move at the end of the passage, and her ghost chimed in to watch her tracker. It was only when it was pointed out that she noticed the display in her upper left with a blinking blue rune in the middle. She also had an ammo counter in the lower left field of her vision, which she thought was useful. Aware now of her HUD, she moved off again cautiously, eyes keeping watch on her radar. She had just rounded another corner when the centre segment of her tracker strobed red, and two Fallen crawled out of the walls. She would remember the moment with a mix of shame and amusement, because she panicked and sprayed the closest alien with bullets. Still, the creature died as its companion took cover around another corner, giving her time to reload. Once she slapped a fresh clip in her rifle, and cycled the first round into the chamber she peeked out and began to trade fire with the Fallen at the end of the hall, putting a few rounds in its chest before one found its head, which oddly vaporized with light spewing from its neck. Kuri noted after the fact that her Ghost had silently identified the Fallen as being a Dreg by popping the name over the creatures head on her HUD. She had 18 rounds left in the mag, enough, she thought to dispatch another of the aliens should she find one.

This place was like a maze of halls, but two short right turns took her to larger area, another hall she realized, but she was getting a ping on her radar horizon, and she thought there might be a open area coming up. She was a little lost in thought as she stepped onto the grated walkway, only to see a Dreg drop down right in front of her. With a cry of surprise, Kuri lashed out with her right fist, slamming her hand into the creatures face. She took a perverse pleasure in the feel of the things face pulping under her hand before it stumbled back and fell down, dead. Kuri did not remember being that strong, maybe it was something to do with being, dead. She shook her head and pushed the thoughts out of her head.

'Survive first, ask questions later' she thought as she set off again, her resolve hardening as she rounded the next corner, to be greeted with an open chamber, and several Fallen. Kuri dispatched two Dregs swiftly before taking cover and reloading while the Fallen returned fire, blue bolts whizzing past her face as she knelt behind a steel panel. Ping on her eight-o'clock she noted as she flicked her eyes up to her tracker before stepping out of cover with a growl. She received no hostile fire at first, and saw nothing to shoot at until she moved forward a couple meters, prompting the hiding Fallen to step out of cover. This one was slightly bigger, had more armor and a second pair of arms, a Vandal..All this Kuri took in as she gifted it with lead, a rather distressing amount of it she noted after it toppled over, lifeless. The Vandal had taken the better part of a clip to drop, something that worried Kuri as she reloaded her weapon and moved on down another catwalk, until her Ghost pointed out what it called a loot cache. It looked like a crate really, but if there was something valuable inside, she was all for it. Kuri looked the cache over before pressing the raised green display on its upper surface, which caused the cache to pop open. Inside she found what was clearly a shotgun, but was of no model she knew of.

Kuri shrugged as she pulled the weapon out, slinging her rifle on her back while she familiarized herself with her new toy. She learned all she could before looking down at her hip, surprised to find she had shotgun shells waiting, big ones too. She shook her head and hummed happily as she began to slot shells into the boomsticks chamber, finding that it held five shells. Setting off as she racked the slide back to chamber a round, she stopped dead at a corner at the sight of red beams coming off of devices stuck to the walls. _'Trip mines! Don't touch them!'_ her Ghost cried as he saw them too. "No shit Ghost..I'm not an idiot." Kuri remarked as she ducked under the trip beams, since what ever set them up wasn't too bright, leaving huge gaps in the trip net. Just as she cleared the first 'trap', a Dreg burst out of the floor, only to be met with the roaring fury of her shotgun. The creature was killed instantly, its head obliterating before if dropped to the ground. Another Dreg rushed her, only to be met with the same fate as her shotgun barked again, and mulched the aliens chest.

Kuri grinned behind her visor as she took cover, a few laser bolts streaming by her as other Fallen opened fire on her. Kuri slipped two shells back into the shotguns chamber before chuckling, "Time to play!" she cried before twisting out of cover and rushing the enemy position. Her cover had been a pillar, perhaps a couple meters long, and as she cleared it she was greeted by two Dregs, both of whom fell before they could react. A third she shot, but it stayed up, mortally wounded and she finished it off by driving her fist into its head. There was another pillar in front of her, but the right side was covered with a couple trip mines, so she looped left, and ended the life of yet another alien. Four down, last one left it seemed, and it was a clever one. The Fallen danced around to her right to save itself from the harsh caress of her shotgun, but instead doomed itself to being pummeled by her fist. She had only a moment to curse her new strength as the body fell across the trigger beam of a mine.

Kuri's world was filled with light and noise before there was nothing, the woman felled by the triggered mine. That was not to be her end how ever, as her Ghost soon revived her. The Ghost didn't revive her where she fell, but a several meters down the hall she had turned into a killing field. Kuri hit the ground screaming and pawing at her side, sure that the shrapnel from the mine had ripped into her side, ravaging her flesh. To her utter amazement, she found nothing, no holes, no blood and no pain."What the hell happened?" she wondered out loud as she looked around and blinked at the familiar hallway, and the bodies she had left behind her. Did she die, and was then brought back to life by her ghost? It was the question on her mind as she made her way back down the hall again until she made it to where she had set off the mine. One remained still, and she pondered the beam before gritting her teeth and stepping into it, setting off the mine. Gah! The device misfired, and her pace took her past it before it detonated, leaving her unscathed.

The mine blast rattled her, breaking her suicidal resolve, "No..Lets not tempt fate again.." she whispered shakily as she turned around to exit the hall, and come to a large chamber. This is where they would strike, she could feel it in her bones. The feeling excited her, and she tightened her grip on her shotgun before striding into the room. Sure enough, before making more than a few feet into the room, a horde of enemies dropped in, and the party started. Five of the Fallen fell to her shotgun and fist, and Kuri almost laughed with contempt at how, easy it was. 'Proper tool for the job', she thought as she noted more contacts on her right. She turned and met them at a doorway, two Dregs ended by shotgun, while a Vandal was pummeled to death with her fists.

After finishing with the Fallen, Kuri moved into the passage, a huge air exchange conduit she surmised with the huge fans set with in. She passed under a defunct fan before ducking down an access tunnel, which led her outside the wall. She only has a moment to admire the view before she saw a flare pop off in the distance. Certain that it was the Fallen, Kuri was about to step out onto the snowy ground before something in the distance caught her eye.

The phenomenon was bright and otherworldly in nature, that much she knew just by looking at it. And as the phenomenon continued to grow, and eventually appear to explode, Kuri set off toward the distant buildings at a run. She didn't seen the Fallen ship until it passed over her, casting the area into shadow with its sheer size, and the woman was thrilled to see it pass over harmlessly. She was less thrilled to see the smaller ships dropping off troops in the distance. Kuri took cover behind the top of a retaining wall, and engaged the nearest group of Fallen. She was informed by her Ghost about her grenade ability, seemed her power was slower to wake up than she was. Kuri chuckled and hurled one of the grenades into a cluster of enemies, harming and blinding them, making them easy pickings for her to bring down. They still soaked too much damage, her primitive rifle wasn't as effective as she liked, and the open field didn't offer the space favored by her shotgun. After she brought down her foes, she broke right and went up a small incline to get into a ruined building, killing a lone Dreg that was cowering within.

Once the Fallen had toppled over, Kuri made her way to the windows, only to duck down with a gasp as two Vandals on the hill displayed their precision weapons, even if they did miss. She made her way out the near door, and crept along a concrete wall before sprinting out and putting a large steel crate between her and the Fallen. Peeking out to check the positions of the Fallen, she determined that they were out of effective range of her weapon, but she was still in range of theirs. "Damned archaic gun belongs in a museum." she muttered before dashing up to another roof, using the two exhaust fans atop it as cover. The second one got her close enough to finally engage and finish off the last three Fallen with a few well placed shots.

Kuri ran down the rusty stairs and passed by a ruined truck, only to have a Dreg pop out and try to engage her. This one fell with a fist to the face, its skull and neck shattering with a rather pleasing sound. Before she could gain the building, two mechanical drones, Shanks, popped out along with two of the smaller Fallen. She dropped the Shanks with a hail of bullets from her rifle, and slung the firearm to sweep out her shotgun, which she used to dispatch the two Dregs inside the building. _'I'm picking up signs of an old jumpship, could be out ticket out of here.' _ her Ghost suddenly chimed, the news cheering her greatly. Kuri took a moment against a crate to rest and check her ammo supplies before noting that her Ghost had placed a little arrow on her tracker, showing her the way to the jumpship no doubt.

The woman took off in a sprint, down one hall, around a corner..Fallen! She spotted them milling about in a room, so she hurled a grenade through the window, the bright blue/white blast killing them and throwing their bodies away from the blast. Undaunted, Kuri progressed through the room, picking up the spilled packets of programmable matter that would be used for her ammo. Three more Fallen came into the room, and promptly met their ends at the end of her shotgun. She reloaded before moving into the next room, only to draw up short when she saw the jump ship, and the Fallen trying to strip it.

A Fallen Captain was the first to spot Kuri, and he barked out at his subordinates before leaping off the ship and firing on her. Kuri grunted as she felt the rounds slam into her shield, sending her behind cover to think a moment. The room was wide, but offered plenty of cover, for both her and the Fallen. One of the Dregs fell to a few well placed rounds from her assault rifle, but when she ducked out to fire on the Vandal, it ducked behind its Captain. The Captain's shield flared blue as it shrugged off the rounds, and Kuri groaned at the discovery. Swapping out for her shotgun, she decided a rush was her best bet, her own shield came with a meter on it, so it stood to reason that the Captain's shield would be the same.

Kuri ducked out of cover with a scream, and sprinted for the first thing she saw, a Dreg. She felled it with a blast of her shotgun, ducked behind some cover and slipped a new shell into the chamber. Then she jumped out again and rushed another Dreg, smashing her fist into its chest and slamming it against a pillar. She didn't wait for it to hit the ground before wheeling and removing a Vandal's head and wounding a Dreg that was behind it. She put the Dreg down just before the Captain engaged her, his Shrapnel Launcher breaking down her shield and sending her to cover with haste. She panted and slipped shells back into her shotguns chamber, but her reprieve didn't last. A surviving Vandal and the Captain flanked her before her shields could recharge. She was facing the Vandal, so it was unfortunate enough to meet her fury head on, her shotgun blowing out its chest before she leapt the toppling body and ducked behind another wall. She took only long enough for her shield to just begin recovering before she stepped out to dance with the Captain. Four blasts from her shotgun was enough to bring the beast down, leaving her bloodied, but alive.

Once the Captain was down, and her tracker showed no contacts, did she turn to the jumpship.

'_Its been here a while, hasn't made a jump in centuries. Were lucky the Fallen haven't picked it clean.'_ Her Ghost remarked as he glided over to the jump ship and began to make scans of it."Will it Fly?" she asked as she watched him work on the ship and he replied with a confidant: _'I can make it work.'_

While the Ghost worked, Kuri turned to look around the room, her eyes falling on a massive hole in one wall, a hole that made her feel distinctly uncomfortable as she spied a cluster of red eyes looking back at her. Right as she snapped her shot gun up, and a truly massive Fallen stepped out of the hole, her Ghost spoke up: _'Ok, its not going to break orbit, but it might get us to the city, now, lets see about that Transmat.' _"Perfect timing.." she called back as she felt herself dematerialize, then a sensation of motion as she looked around the inside of her ship. She could hear a few rattles as the Fallen shot at her, but the ships sudden acceleration carried them far out of range in a matter of moments. _'We can come back for them when you're ready.' _ her Ghost said as it set the ship on a course for the city.


End file.
